Busy Friday Game Day for Wildcats and Lady Cats
It’s a very busy game day Friday for Wildcats and Lady Cats’ teams.
The Lady Cats Softball Team will be opening the season in their own Sulphur Springs Tournament by going on the road. The Lady Cats will be playing on the artificial turf at Grand Saline Friday and and Saturday. Friday the Lady Cats are opening against Prairiland. That game started at 12:30 p.m. They will also play Pleasant Grove at 3:30 p.m. and Grand Saline at 5 p.m. On Saturday the Lady Cats play Wills Point at 9:30 a.m. and Gilmer at 3:30 p.m. Tournament games will also be going on at Emory Rains and at Mount Pleasant.
The Wildcats Soccer Team has a district match against Texas High at Gerald Prim Stadium Friday. There will be a JV game at 5:30 p.m. with a varsity match at 7:15 p.m. The Wildcats varsity is 2-1 in district play and 8-5-5 for the season. KSST Radio will bring you the Tigers and Wildcats live from The Prim beginning at 7:15 p.m. The game will also be videotaped for replay later on Channel 18 on Suddenlink Cable.
The Lady Cats Soccer Team, also 2-1 in district play, will be at Texas High Friday with a JV game at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity game to follow at 7:15 p.m. The Lady Cats are 6-7-1 for the season.
The Lady Cats Powerlifting Team is competing at a meet in Commerce Friday. The Wildcats are at Commerce for a meet on Saturday.
The Wildcats Tennis Team is back in Tyler on this game day Friday at a John Tyler sponsored tournament. Action began in the cold at 8 a.m.
Finally the final Wildcats Baseball scrimmage scheduled to be at Wildcat Park Friday evening with North Lamar has been canceled. The Wildcats only got one of their scheduled four scrimmages in due to the wet weather. The Wildcats Baseball Team opens the regular season at a Tyler Lee tournament next week.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
Texas A&M Commerce Hosts First College Rodeo
Students from across Texas and Louisiana made their way to the Hopkins County Civic center for first ever Texas A&M Commerce hosted rodeo. The event kicked off Friday February 21st, 2020. The rodeo competition will resume Friday evening at 7:00PM. The rodeo will continue all day Saturday. “It takes a while for 500 students to compete!” said A&M Rodeo Coach Damien White.
Students pay their own way from competition to competition. A total of 38 Texas A&M student are here to complete in Sulphur Springs.
The men complete in calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc, bareback and bull riding. Women complete in barrels, breakaway, goat tying, and team roping.
The Commerce Women’s Rodeo team is currently 4th in the nation, and leading this region. The top two women in college rodeo, Mia Manzanares and Whitley Whitewood, are on the Texas A&M Commerce team. Whitley won Best-All-Around at the recent College Rodeo Showdown in San Antonio. Another student, Abigayle Hampton, came close to winning a million dollars in the American Rodeo competition last year. Abigayle qualified for this years American Rodeo and will be completing again in a few weeks.
Coach White says the men’s team is also ranked high in the nation as well. “These are scholarly athletes. All are full time students. some undergrad and some working toward their masters degree. Last years team G.P.A. was 3.3.” says White.
The public is invited to attend the competition. There is no admission charge.
Hearts of Life Says, “Meet Hoover”
Meet Hoover! Hoover is extremely affectionate and longs for a human of her own.
She is very large and very strong but she is a gentle giant. Hoover is current on all her shots, microchipped, heart worm negative, on prevention and is spayed. Her adoption fee is $100.00. If you’re interested in this sweet girl, please call or text us at 903-439-5019, email [email protected], find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/heartsoflife or on Petfinder.com. You can meet Hoover Saturday from 10:00-2:00 at Petsense! all adoptions are subject to a home inspection and/or background check
Saltillo Teen Jailed Following Disturbance With Stepfather
Deputies took an 18-year-old Saltillo teen into custody on a misdemeanor assault charge, following a disturbance that allegedly began with his stepfather throwing water on him Thursday morning.
Hopkins County emergency dispatchers at 10:52 a.m. received a call alleging a son and dad to be in a physical fight at an FM 269 south residence. Hopkins County Sheriff‘s Deputy Nicholas Marney and Sgt. Tanner Steward responded to the disturbance, according to sheriff’s reports.
Upon arrival at the location, the deputies learned an 18-year-old and his stepfather had been involved in the disturbance, Marney and Steward noted in arrest reports.
The teen alleged the incident stemmed from his stepfather throwing water on him while he was in bed. The Saltillo youth told the deputies he’d warned his stepfather if he threw water on him, he’d retaliate by attempting the same action. The 18-year-old claimed he did react, by pushing his stepfather out of his way, the deputies alleged in arrest reports.
The stepfather alleged the teen pushed him in an aggressive manner, resulting in the teen being taken into custody at 11:38 a.m. Feb. 20, on a misdemeanor assault by contact charge, according to arrest reports.
The teen remained in the county jail overnight and was released from custody Friday morning, Feb. 21, according to jail reports.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
Blaze Destroys FM 1567 Garage, Causes Damage To Residence Kitchen
A blaze damaged a FM 1567 home around lunch time Thursday. No injuries were reported, but the home’s garage was destroyed and the kitchen/living area it was attached to sustained smoke and water damages, according to Hopkins County Fire Marshal Michael Matthews.
Emergency dispatchers were notified at 12:29 p.m. of a structure fire on FM 1567. Arbala, Hopkins, County, Brinker, Miller Grove and Pickton-Pine Forest firefighters responded.
The resident and his brother had reportedly been working on a lawn mower in the garage, attached to the house. They’d gone inside the residence to eat. A loud boom was heard. While there was no fire visible inside the house at that point, the occupants reported seeing heavy smoke covering everything in the driveway when they walked outside, according to the fire marshal.
“All got out safely. No one was injured,” Matthews said.
Arbala firefighters arrived on scene first with fire truck. The flames were blazing out of the garage, where the door appeared to have been blown off. Arbala firefighters began an exterior attack on the garage, according to fire reports.
Hopkins County firefighters arrived shortly after. Brinker, Miller Grove and Pickton-Pine Forest firefighters also responded with engines and tankers to assist, according to fire reports. The blaze was spreading across the attic into the kitchen/living area of the home. County firefighters began an interior attack of the home, according to fire reports.
Additional firefighters on scene checked for extension and were utilized for salvage and overhaul phases of the firefight. As firefighters continued working inside, tarps were used to cover furniture inside the home, to help reduce smoke and water damage, according to the fire marshal.
“The majority of the home was saved. Firefighters made a good stop on it, stopped it going into kitchen. The garage was a total loss,” Matthews said.
The cause of the fire is as yet undetermined. While it appears accidental, no official cause has been ruled as further investigation is required, according to the fire marshal.
Ballot Order Drawn For Opposed Places For May 2 Sulphur Springs City Council Election
The official drawing for order of candidate names in the opposed places on the May 2 Sulphur Springs City Council Election ballot was conducted Thursday morning, Feb. 20.
Names for opposed places will appear on the ballot as follows:
Place 1
Vanessa Diosdado 
Justin M. Brown
Place 5
Ricardo Chavarria 
Gary Spraggins
The names of the four unopposed candidates will also be on the May 2 Sulphur Springs City Council Election ballot.
They include:
Place 2
Place 3
Place 6
Place 7
Harold Nash 
Oscar Aguilar
Doug Moore 
John Sellers
Places 1-3 and Place 5 are for unexpired terms of council members who resigned in December. Places 6 and 7 are for full terms on the council
Early voting by personal appearance will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday, Monday-Friday, April 20-28, in the Sulphur Springs Municipal Building located at 201 North Davis St.
As mandated by House Bill 2309 of the 79th Legislation, two weekdays must be open for 12 hours during the regular early voting period. Therefore, early voting by personal appearance will be conducted between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, and Thursday, April 23. Election Day voting will be conducted from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 2.
Application for a ballot by mail shall be mailed to: Gale Roberts, 125 South Davis Street, Sulphur Springs, Texas 75482, or email to groberts@sulphurspringstx. org. Mail applications must be received no later than April 17.
The Judge for the May 2 City Council Election will be Michael Wolfe. Alternates will be Sheila Funderburk, Nell Fumey, Barbara Grubbs and Tammy Calhoun.
The early voting clerk is Gale Roberts, with Lesa Smith, Jody Price and Ashley Floyd as alternates.
Emory Woman Jailed For Suspected DWI On Substance Other Than Alcohol
A 28-year-old Emory woman was arrested for driving while intoxicated after reportedly crashing her vehicle off FM 275 Wednesday morning. She allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana prior to driving, but denied using any other substances for 11 months, according to arrest reports.
Hopkins County sheriff‘s deputies, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, and Hopkins County and Miller Grove firefighters were dispatched at 6:45 a.m. Feb. 19 to a one-vehicle crash on FM 275, south of FM 1567.
Deputies arrived and advised the responding trooper that although no alcohol was detected on the driver, the woman with the vehicle appeared to be intoxicated or impaired, the trooper alleged in arrest reports. The woman claimed to have been driving from Tawakoni to Emory at about 1:30 a.m. when she crashed.
The trooper reported finding a blue Jeep sport utility vehicle resting in the south bar ditch, where it appeared to have crashed. The woman identified as the driver reportedly told officials she swerved and possibly braked to avoid an animal. She said she didn’t have a cell phone and was unable to call 911 so she waited on the side of the road until someone else did, the trooper alleged in arrest reports.
“I noticed she was talking at an extremely rapid pace. she was speaking so fast that I could not understand some of her statements. She could not offer a reasonable answer as to why she was driving this direction from Tawakoni toward Emory,” the trooper wrote in arrest reports.
When asked, the Emory woman reportedly denied being sick or injured, but did indicate she was cold. Thus, she and the officer moved to a heated patrol vehicle so she could warm up.
“I told her she appeared to be high on methamphetamine. She told me she had been clean off of methamphetamine for almost 11 months. She told me that she smoked marijuana in Tawakoni before driving and crashing. She said she had not smoked marijuana, drank alcohol, or consumed any intoxicants since she crashed,” the trooper wrote in arrest reports.
Field sobriety tests were administered to the woman, who the trooper alleged had “extremely small pupils even though it was cloudy and about 7:30 AM.” During a walk and turn test, the woman allegedly missed the heal-to-toe part of the exercise, stopped walking, conducted an improper turn and took the wrong number of second steps. She allegedly exhibited short term memory loss, stopping and asking how to do the turn, the trooper alleged.
The troopers, in reports, stated that he observed no skid or brake marks at the crash site to indicate the driver of the vehicle might have conducted an evasive technique prior to or causing the crash.
It appeared, the troop alleged in arrest reports, he woman “simply drove off of the road, the first indicator of an impaired driver (vehicle in motion).” She allegedly told the trooper that she had smoked marijuana prior to driving and that she hadn’t smoked in 11 months,
The woman gave a breath sample, which had a result of 0.00, and consented to have a sample of her blood drawn at the hospital for analysis. Based on his Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement certification training and prior experience, the trooper determined “it was more likely” the woman had conducted the offense of DWI and took her to jail on the charge, according to arrest reports.
The 28-year-old Emory woman was released from Hopkins County jail Thursday morning, Feb. 20. Her bond was set at $1,000 on the DWI charge, according to jail reports.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
SSHS Treated For Bed Bugs
An exterminator treated Sulphur Springs High School Monday for bed bugs, according to Sulphur Springs Independent School District Superintendent Michael Lamb. There have been no findings at any other district campuses.
When the potential problem was noted in limited areas at the school, the plant operations director was contacted.
The areas were isolated and Terminix contacted.
“Terminix was brought in Monday. It was not in my places. Those areas have been quarantined and treated. The Terminix guy visited with staff about it,” Lamb said.
The library and one other area were shut down. Furniture was removed, not necessarily because bed bugs were found on the items, but because the items were identified as as places bed bugs could potentially be, according to the superintendent.
The exterminator, according to Lamb, said bed bugs are a widespread problem in the area and across the state at the moment. He also described the issue so that staff would be aware of it and what to watch for.
Lamb said bed bugs can be spread in much the same way as a head lice infestation. Bed bugs can enter the school on book bags, clothes or individuals, then like lice jump and spread to other students, furniture or other items. They could also be picked up at locations or homes as well.
“It’s been treated. We’ve done what we can do. We are fortunate that it’s not a wider spread problem than thought,” Lamb said.
School staff will remain vigilant in watching for bed bugs or any other pests, and actions will be taken as needed. With more than 1,000 students at the campus, plus staff, there a many places they could potentially come into contact with bed bugs and spread them.
Parents of SSHS students received emails through the school notification system Wednesday so they are aware of the issue and can be alert for the potential pests.
School officials hope that the problem can be kept under control until spring break, and additional treatment can be applied to ensure the problem is eradicated. If any additional bed bugs are identified necessary action would be taken to get rid of them, according to the superintendent.
Bed bugs
So what do bed bugs look like? Wizzie Brown and Noel Troxclair in “Common Insect and Mite Pests of Humans: Lice, Fleas and Bed Bugs” described bed bugs as “small, dark brown to reddish, flattened insects with oval bodies and no wings.”
A bed bug’s size and color depend on the amount of blood that the body contains, Roger Gold and Harry Howell wrote in “Bed Bugs – How can you protect yourself from bed bugs?” for Texas AgriLife Extension.
Unfed bed bugs are 1/4-3/8 inch long; their upper body appears flimsy, and crinkly appearance. When filled with blood, bed bugs’ bodies become elongated and swollen, and appear brown to dull red, according to Gold and Howell.
“Bed bug eggs are white and about 1/32 inch long. Newly hatched bugs are translucent and nearly colorless, but similar in shape to the adults. As they grow, they molt (shed their skins). After each molt they are pale in color, then become brownish as the exoskeleton hardens,” the AgriLife Extension report states.
Bed bugs feed mostly at night on sleeping people. However, if the light is dim, a hungry bed bug will feed during the day, Howell and Gold report.
Bed bugs are “spread mainly through the clothing and luggage of travelers or by secondhand bedroom furniture,” according to Brown and Troxclair.
“At the beginning of an infestation in a room, bed bugs are likely to be found only in the tufts, seams, and folds of mattresses and covers. Later they spread to crevices in the bedsteads. If allowed to multiply, they establish themselves behind baseboards, window and door casings, pictures and picture moldings, and in furniture, loosened wallpaper, cracks in plaster and partitions,” according to Howell and Gold.
The best way to get rid of bed bugs is to “locate their hiding places and improve sanitation by vacuuming or removing the bugs by hand. As necessary, you may need to treat with an insecticide approved for this use,” Howell and Gold reported.
An insecticide whose label specifically says for bed bugs may be sprayed or dusted on bed slats, springs and frame; and other hiding places in a room.
For heavily infected areas, Howell and Gold recommend consulting a commercial pest control operator to control the infestation.
Wildcats Tennis Coach Tony Martinez said Two Doubles Teams and One Singles Player Shined at Tyler Lee Tourney Last Friday
Valentine’s Day last Friday, at a Tyler Lee tennis tournament in Tyler, began with temperatures near the freezing mark but then warmed up and turned into a beautiful day according to Wildcats Tennis Coach Tony Martinez. He said two of his doubles teams and a girls’ singles player had good days against a tough field. The Wildcats boys doubles team of Aaron Lucas and Logan Schumacher lost their first match of the day in the cold weather to Whitehouse but then warmed up like the weather to win a consolation final match. Coach Martinez said his duo won the finals match, 8-4 or 8-5. Wildcats girls’ singles player Harleigh Stegient won a finals match in B Division consolation. The Wildcats mixed doubles team of Jonah Kirkpatrick and Jeauxleigh Cantu got a big win over Longview before falling to a very strong highly ranked Tyler Lee team later on. Still Cantu and Kirkpatrick rallied to take a third place match against a good Center team, 9-8 in a tiebreaker. Coach Martinez was thrilled with the success considering the tournament featured 25 strong teams including Tyler Lee, All Saints, Longview, Hallsville, Jacksonville, Whitehouse Van, Wills Point, Rockwall and Rockwall Heath. Coach Martinez said the Wildcats have had a hard time getting in any practice. Friday the Wildcats return to Tyler to play in a John Tyler tournament.
KSST is proud to be the official Wildcat and Lady Cat Station. We broadcast Sulphur Springs ISD games year round live on radio. When allowed, we also broadcast games via our YouTube channel.
